The 10 Photo Commandments

The 10 Photo Commandments

Real estate photos for marketing a listing effectively are a huge deal – we all know that, as does the buying public. Sadly, many in our profession appear to be clueless on this issue, or don’t care. There is simply no excuse in my opinion in this age of digital photography for crappy photos, or lack thereof. None!

Here is my 10 Photo Commandments List for sellers that I just created and have now added to my pre-listing package, and plan to include in my listing presentation.

Making sellers aware that bad or very limited photos are commonplace, but worse, are inconsistent with what I, and many others, believe is responsible seller representation, is my goal.

Sellers WILL have a commitment from me, in writing, that my photos will be the best they can possibly be.

Of course part of that discussion is also to coach sellers on how they can enable me to achieve this goal on their behalf.

So here they are. Whadya think?

My 10 Photo Commandments

Thou shalt include multiple photos - the maximum allowed on listing sites and the MLS

Thou shalt take photos of the interior and the exterior

Thou shalt not include photos of an open toilet, EVER!

Thou shalt take multiple photos of each room from different angles to enable the best pictures to be selected

Thou shalt not take photos of blank walls, corners of an empty room or the ceiling

Thou shalt not include photos of driveways with cars and trucks, especially those up on blocks

Thou shalt not take exterior photos of the home on trash collection day

Thou shalt not include photos of dirty dishes in the sink or on the counters

Thou shalt take no photos of dirty laundry on the floor (or anywhere) and unmade beds

Thou shalt not include photos which are crooked, upside-down, out-of-focus, or dark

Jeff Dowler

Your Listing Agent

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I agree that photos are very important. It's one of my pet peeves when a listing only has one, or even no photos. But at the same time, I can understand why there may not be many photos...but never not a one. You can at least get a photo of the front of the house. I've got a listing right now with a seller that just got divorced. He doesn't want me to get interior pictures yet, but it is important for us to get the house listed right away. He's been a bachelor for quite a while and not a happy one. He has some cleaning to do before I can take interior pictures.

Debbie - yes, there are exceptions, and I have certainly had them as well. The whole point of this is making the commitment to do the best possible photos within the circumstances, and to have a dialog with the sellers about the issues.

Tom - I suspect that is true for many people who decide to sell. Unfortunately it seems that some agents do not care. And some sellers clearly don't either.

In this day and age of indoor plumbing it doesn't seem necessary to convey to buyers that there IS at least 1 toilet in the house. ONe does have to wonder. Granted bathrooms, especailly small ones are not easy to photograph but why even include unless it really IS outstanding. LOL

Jeff, I think these are great photo commandments. There are some rooms, those on an angle and rooms that are small that are difficult to capture. We do the best we can … highlighting the great features and minimizing the not so great features of a home.You’re hired!

I also say NO photos of children. Some realtors take photos that show off furniture and art work. REALLY?? It makes me crazy the photos I see.

I just showed a rental today. My clients are paying my fee and this was found on Craigslist. I asked the owner after if she would list the rental with me instead of trying this on her own. Of course she wants all my trade secrets, but her photo of the front of the house was terrible. Grey, crooked and just plain awful. We were all pleasantly surprised to see the home was actually pretty.

Well, she will not get showings, and hopefully give me back a call. I let her know that our marketing is DIFFERENT than her. Not being a professional, she has an excuse. When I see agents do the same thing, well... that is NOT forgiveable!

Hi Jeff - Sounds so simple, but apparently a lot of agents don't understand that the purpose of the photos is to market the home. Just a few days ago I was looking for a property for a client and on one listing there were pictures of two different open toilets, a table, a door, and a lamp among the 8 photos. I have no idea what that agent was thinking.

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